Sharp Increase in Birth in US among Women using Opioid

U.S., Jan. 18 -- According to a new study by a team of researchers from U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a sharp increase has been observed in the number of babies born every year to women who have used opioids.
The findings of the study revealed that in 10 years, a fivefold increase was seen in the number of babies born to mothers taking opioids. The study also noted that the infants whose mothers used opioids during pregnancy were also at a higher risk of getting addicted to opioids. Women and children mainly used drugs which included heroin and prescription painkillers such as fentanyl, oxycodone (OxyContin) and hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Vicodin).
The researchers noted that only 1 percent of the women of childbearing age who were pregnant used opioid as compared to 3 percent among non-pregnant women.
Out of around 21,000 pregnant women who were admitted to hospitals for substance abuse treatment in 2012, 23 percent said that they used heroin, while 28 percent said that they used non-heroin opioid.